Time-burning railway signal-fusee.



LOUIS S. Ross, or NEWTONVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

-TIME-BURNING RAILWAY SIGNAL-FUSEE.

No Drawing.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 15, 1913..

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS S. Ross, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Newton'ville, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Time- Burning RailwaySignal-Fusees, of which the following de' scription is a specification;

This invention relates to improvements in compounds for time burningrailway signal fusees, the primary object thereof being to' produce aCompound which is not only substantiallyimmune from tendency tospontaneous ignition or combustion, but which burns efliciently withouttendency toward incandescenceand within predetermined time limits andthat can be ignited at a lower temperature than the so-calledperchlorate fusee heretofore made.

A further object of the invention is to produce a fusee that will burnwithout leaving an objectionable residue and which is devoid ofadulterants, and therefore is of minimum bulk and minimum length, thusadapting the fusee more easily to transportation and storage, whilerendering it less liable to break in use, owing to the decreasedleverage when thrown.

In most compositions for railway signal fusees produced prior to my.invention there have been certain recognized characteristics of theingredients constituting the fuse'es' that rendered the latter extremelysuscepti ble to spontaneous ignition, particularly in the presence ofheat or moisture.

- The so-called chlorate time burning signal fuse-e is composed ofchlorate, sulfur, carbohydrate and metallic nitrate in suitableproportions, and the so-called perchlo' rate fusee is composed ofperchlorate, sulfur, carbohydrate and metallic nitrate in suitableproportions.

In my tests and experiments to eliminate the known objections of theperchlorate fusee and to perfect such fusee, I have as-' certained thatthe employment of a carbohydrate in a perchlorate tusee is gravely andpeculiarly objectionable. That is to say, I have ascertained thatalthough a carbohydrate may be employed satisfactorily in a so-calledchlorate fusee, its presence in a perchlorate fusee is objectionableowing to thecombined presence of carbohydrate and perchlorate. A seriousobjection to the so-called perchlorate fusee is due to the in- Application filed January 2, 1913. Serial No. 739.797.

creased oxidizing power of perchlorate which differs from chlorate onlyin that it contains anadded atom of oxygen. This ob ectlon is aparticularly serious one in the use of fusees of combined colors, forthe tendency to incandescence and excessive brilliancy causes thered,,yellow and green fusee flames to lose their characteristic colorsand gradually to merge nearer a whiter light. I have discovered in thecourse of long experimentation that this objection is very materiallyovercome by the elimination of carbohydrate and by the employment ofhydrocarbon or carbon, or both,,or in other words, by the employment ofcarbonaceous material that is devoid of oxygen. The overcoming of thesaid objection I attribute largely to the fact that the carbohydratecontains oxygen, which is not present in the hydrocarbon or in thecarbon. The added oxygen present in the perchlorate is to a veryconsiderable extent compensated for by the absence thereof in thehydrocarbon and carbon,eventhough the amount of hydrocarbon or carbon,or both, is less than that of the perchlorate. A further objection tothe so-called'perchlorate fusee is that it burns too quickly; that is,with a decreased burning interval after a short period followingmanufacturing. As a result of my said experiments, I attribute thisdefect in part at least to the added oxygen present in the perchlorate.The absence of oxygen in the hydrocarbon and in the carbon compen satestherefor, and hence there is less tendency of my fusee to burn for ashorter period than the minimum vtime'limit. The so-called perchloratefusee is also objectionable in that it requires a. temperature ofsubstantially 310 C. to ignite, this being considerably higher than the250 C. re-

quired by the bureau for the safe transportation of explosives. I havediscovered that by eliminating carbohydrate and by employing hydrocarbonor carbon, or both,

substantially asherein set forth, I am enabled to make a fuseecontaining perchlorate, which fusee is somewhat more readily inflammablethan the perchlorate-carbohydrate fusee.

Not only does the carbohydrate heretofore employed in the manufacture ofperchlorate fusee leave an objectionable residue and also prevent-theproper burning of the perchlovrate fuses, but the carbohydrate has beenmetallic salt or metallic nitrate.

fuses more bulky and hence of increased length for a predeterminedburning time,

thus rendering it more liable to breakage when 'it is thrown from atrain in use. so-called perchlorate fusee is also objectionable in' thatit is more easily extinguished when thrown from a moving train than a 4fusee 'of the so-called chlorate type, and .it

is harder to ignite than a fusee of the said chlorate type.

In my experiments asheretofore set forth,

I have eliminated the carbohydrate and have employed carbonaceousmaterial that is devoid of oxygen and preferably either in the form of ahydrocarbon or of a carbon, or both. In making suchelimination and inemploying hydrocarbon or carbon, or both, to the exclusion of acarbohydrate, I have been compelled to make many tests under commercialconditions before obtaining 'a perchlorate fusee wherein suchcarbonaceous material is present in the proper proportions with respectto the other ingredients, namely, the perchlorate, the sulfur and the Ihave, however, secured satisfactory results with the elimination of thecarbohydrate and by the employment of a hydrocarbon or of a carbon orboth; that is, of a carbonaceous material devoid of oxygen. Moreover, Ihave found that a perchlorate fusee containing suchcarbonaceous materialdevoid of oxygen is not so readily extinguished as is a perchloratefusee containing carbohydrate, and that it is not so hard to ignite asis a perchlorate fusee containing carbohydrate. In other words, I havenot only, in the elimination of the carbohydrate, eliminated certainobjections which my experiments have convinced me were due tothecarbohydrate, but I have eliminated certain objections heretoforesupposed to be inherently and necessarily characteristic of aperchlorate fusee, and due solely to the presence of the perchlorate;namely, the relative ease with which it is extinguished when thrown froma moving train, the relative difficulty of igniting the same, thetendency of the fl ames toward incandescence, and the high temperaturerequired for lgnition. I have furthermore discovered that by usinghydrocarbon or carbon, or both, the perchlorate fusee when properly madew1ll not only not be so easily extinguished when thrown and will not beso hard to lgnite,

The

but it will burn with the production of proper colors.

I have discovered that in certain cases the perchlorate fusee burns withsomewhat dulled or muddy colors, although approaching incandescence, andmy tests and experiemalo in the in redients in substantiall thefollowing proportions: metallic salt (preferably nitrate) 72 parts,sulfur 12 parts, hydrocarbon 6 parts, potassium perchlorate 12 parts.

While it is possible'to vary the proportions of the ingredients',-and Iam not to belimited to the variations of the proportions herein setforth,-I have also obtained excellent results. by using from ten tosixteen parts of sulfur, and by usingfrom four to'eight parts ofhydrocarbon. I have also 'obtained excellent results by employing substantially the following proportion of parts:

metallic salt (preferably nitrate) 64 parts, sulfur 10 parts, carbon 4parts, perchlorate of potassium 20 parts. Good results may also beobtained by increasing the metallic nitrate to seventy-six parts orless, by ,in-

creasing the sulfur to eighteen parts or less, by increasing the carbonto ten parts or less and by decreasing the perchlorate of potassium toten parts or more. I have also obtained good results by employinghydrocarbon and carbon in suitable admixtures or proportions of the saidtwo ingredients. For example, instead of employing four parts of carbon,I may employ three parts of hydrocarbon and one of carbon, or two partsof hydrocarbon and two of carbon, or such other combination of the twoingredients as desired. Moreover, instead of employing ten parts ofcarbon, I may employ a suitable admixture of hydrocarbon and carbon,such, for example, as sevenparts of carbon and three parts ofhydrocarbon. In no case, however, do I employ a carbohydrate. Thehydrocarbon in the use of which I have obtained the best result iserably in a finely powdered state, excepting the petroleum grease. Anysuitable perwow/2 149 such, for exolllomte may lee employed,

of soample, as perchlorate o1 gootessiumn diam, or of barium.

Having thus (1 my invention, I

slge

ggleeilenios, Viz; sulfur, perchlorate, metollio isitre'te, andcarbonaceous material that is 'devoial of oxygen, m such proportions 'asthereby to ro" ace s :iusee for the urpose steterl burn-111g wlthbmlhsncy and iorce of flame within precletermined time'limits andWithout moendesceece, and that is not subject to spool-moons ignition orcombustion.

2.. An improved time homingv railway fuses com of the "followingingradients, viz; sulfur, perchlorate, metallic nitrate, andhyclrocsrbon, in such propertions as thereby to j roiluce a fusee' forthe pur *ose stete burnmg "with brilliency and force of flame withinpredeterminml' time limitssocl without incandescence,;end that is notsusg'ect to spontaneous ignition or combustion. ,f

3.. An improved time burning railway signal 'lfusee composed of thefollowing ingreclients, vie; sulfitr, perchlorate, metallicnitrate, and.hydrocarbon anti carbon, in

.termined time limits one; Withoutinc 'such proportions as thereby toprocluce fusee for thepurpose stated burlbmlhanoy and 2: mg with forceof flame within pretleterminal. time limits and without incaxles sense,and that-is not subject to spontane one ignition or combustion.

4%. An improvetltlme burning railway signal fuses composed of thefollowing it gredients, is; sulfur, perchlorate of co tassium, metallicnitrate, and hycll'ooafooe, in suoh proportions as thereby to procluoe efusee for the purpose stated, burning with brilliency and force of flameWithin determined limits and Without incandeseence, end that is notsubject to spontaneous ignition or combustion.

5. An improve time burning railway signal fusee composej of thefollowing ingredlents, namely, sulfur, perchlorate, metelliosalt burningwith color, and fiislbfinaoeous material that is devoid of oxygen,

such proportions as thereby to produce fuses for the purpose statedburning brllllency and force of flame wltnn'l 2m commend that is notsubject. SPO? igziltion or combustion.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence oi two" subscribing esses.

LGEHS s, E3

Witnesses:

JOHN R. MotrmoN, \llevme U Towxssso.

